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Topic: Bleu Pont-l'Évêque (Read 3397 times)

Well, I wasn't sure if this should be placed in the blue section or stay here with its siblings. So I decided it should stay here since it's going to be a washed rind cheese anyway...and bleu/blue too!

This little cheese started life here. Now it continues its life all alone, creating its own blue character.

Boofer, perhaps I missed something in the original post, but how is this little one getting blue?

You have to click on his link in his first post to learn about the gestation of this cheese. it's a sort of leftover curd, "what should I do" sort of cheese that he dosed with a PR slurry to blue it up. But I like your smurf pic and I think the cheese name could be Bleu Pont-l'smurfeque.

Yeah, that's about it, Herman. I'll take this little guy to some point with the rind development, along with his two big siblings. Then, at some point, I will dose it with some Blue Castello I just happened to have. Interesting point, the Blue Castello has a butterfat content of around 75%. That should be close to where this little guy will end up.

Tomorrow will mark 2 weeks for this cheese. Hoping for a little more shrinkage and more Geo & linens before I dose it with the Blue Castello slurry.

This will be a different blue effort. Ordinarily a blue cheese is dosed with the milk in the make or at moulding time. I've done both. This will be after-the-fact bluing. I don't know if it will take or what the outcome might be. Eh, it's a grand experiment.

What I expect and am driving for is an extra creamy mild blue cheese. Should be very rich and delightful (Put away the diet!).

I think your post-blue application should work fine. I took a cheesemaking course a couple years ago (which is what got me hooked on making cheese) and one trick we were told was to go buy a cheap edam or mild cheddar, and take our favorite blue, smear some over the cheap cheese, poking holes in it, etc, then wrap with foil, put in the veggie crisper, and leave it for a month or two. Then, we would end up with a kilo of blue cheese. I've not tried it myself, but someone on the board did and it worked fairly well for them. So, with your far superior cheese, this should be a star! A cheese to you for trying yet another approach.

- Jeff

Logged

The wise do not always start out on the right path, but they do know when to change course.

The rind had stayed pretty much low-key Geo. Not much linens action...and that's good for this particular cheese. I decided today would be a good time to make it bleu.

I sprayed my dedicated knitting needle with Star-San and set it aside.

I cut off the outer surfaces of my Blue Castello wedge and took about a tablespoonful of inner paste with bluing. I added a little distilled water and mixed up the slurry.

I held the cheese and gently poked holes through to the opposite flat side, twisting the knitting needle as I pierced the cheese. After piercing, I dribbled the slurry into the holes. I wanted it in the holes more than on the surface, but I didn't make any effort to clean off the surface. Once I had put the slurry in the holes, I looked at the other flat side and saw that the holes hadn't really come all the way through. I pierced shallowly through this side and turned the cheese back upright. That seemed to allow the slurry to more easily enter the holes I had made in the top. So I added some more slurry to the holes.

While I was piercing the cheese, it seemed that the paste was creamy. I didn't get a chance to taste any of it so it will be a grand surprise in several weeks.

This little cheese is surprising me with its development. Unlike its larger square siblings, this cheese has developed its rind properly and has the characteristic white grittiness from the Geo. It also shows a little linens color. Perhaps it is correct because it is smaller and the inner paste has dried a little earlier, whereas the larger square Pont l'Eveques contain more moisture and they subsequently are having a difficult time losing that moisture. The taller form factor of this little cheese also allows it more exposure to the air. Of course, poking it with holes didn't hurt either.

The blue slurry I painted on has been assimilated and is no longer an obvious standout from the cheese.

Currently, affinage is around ~90%RH and ~53F. The moist paper towel contributing to RH can be seen in the pic.